Ghostwriting is essentially writing books for someone else. Sometimes, the client is highly involved in the project, almost like a co-author. Other times, they are not very involved, or not involved at all. Whatever the case, most of the time your name is not on the book. That’s why they call it ghostwriting: you are invisible.

Sometimes, however, you can negotiate to have your name listed on the book cover. They call this a “with” credit. I’ve been fortunate enough to negotiate for a “with” credit on a couple of books so far, including The Faith of Elvis, which I wrote with Billy Stanley, Elvis Presley’s stepbrother.

There are a few reasons why I like ghostwriting:

1. It’s fairly straightforward. Writing books is a pretty straightforward process once you understand how to plan, outline, and draft a book. I like being able to explain to people that I write books for people who don’t have the time or talent to do it themselves. It’s very easy for others to understand.
2. It can pay well. My projects have ranged from the low five figures to the high five figures per book. Because of this, it doesn’t take many projects per year to make a decent living.
3. You learn a lot with each project. Every book I write gives me more knowledge and experience that I can apply to other projects. I feel like I’m getting a master’s degree in a specific topic every time I write a book.

The big challenge with ghostwriting, just like any client-based work, is finding and signing clients. I’ve had periods where I’ve had an abundance of work, and also dry periods when I was a little worried about when the next client would sign. It’s definitely an adjustment if you’re used to getting a regular paycheck from an employer.

The one thing people ask me all the time is, “How do you get started as a ghostwriter?” I’ll give you three very specific things.

First, you need to write a book if you haven’t already. I suggest a short book that’s around 120 pages, about 30,000 words or so. This will give you automatic credibility as an author, and as someone who can write books.

Second, you need to enroll in Ghostwriter School, taught by my friend and mentor Nick Pavlidis. This is how I got started, and I recommend you do the same as well. You can access it at https://ghostwriterschool.com.

And third, you need to start telling people you’re building a ghostwriting business. Don’t tell them you’re doing five other things on the side. Just focus on ghostwriting. If you have a book out there, and you’re going through Nick’s training, and you’re consistently telling people you’re building a ghostwriting business, it’s only a matter of time before you find that first client.

If you are a freelance writer doing a lot of little jobs for clients, I encourage you to consider ghostwriting. It generally pays more, and you can focus on a few higher-value clients than a bunch of smaller ones. Ghostwriting has been good to me and my family, and I know it can do the same for you.

Question: Have you ever considered ghostwriting? How could it impact your life and writing business?

The post Making Money as a Writer: Ghostwriting appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

Many of my writer friends not only create their own content, they also do client work such as editing, writing articles, or ghostwriting books. As you probably know, I’m a full-time ghostwriter myself.

I’m excited to share this conversation with Paul Klein, who is a business consultant and entrepreneur, and host of The Creator Revolution Podcast. From his days as a 1980s hair band guitarist, he has been a lifelong entrepreneur. He has experience starting and scaling a successful SAAS company as well as consulting some of the biggest brands including Target, Neiman Marcus, Starbucks, Holiday Inn, and other global brands.

Paul helps consultants, freelancers, and solopreneurs price their services and stop under-charging so they can build their 7-plus figure businesses.

In this conversation, I get to ask Paul all my questions related to pricing strategies that can help increase our rates. You’re going to learn the best ways as a service provider to increase your income and use price anchoring to set the conversation about your rates. Every writer can increase their revenue, rates, and engagements by implementing these simple pricing strategies.

You can find out more about Paul at https://PaulKlein.net and https://bizabletv.com. Plus, you can get 7 days of BizableTV FREE! You can access exclusive entrepreneurs, docuseries, BizableTV University, and live streams.

The post Pricing Strategies to Increase Your Rates with Paul Klein appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

Finish what you start.

This might be the most important practice of all.

It is easy to get distracted by other projects. I have done that many times myself. But I encourage you to finish what you start, and then publish it. When you have too many things you have written but not finished, it’s demoralizing. You feel like you have put in a ton of work, but you have no results.

A few years ago, I spend months and months doing research for a book. I literally took 150 pages of notes. I had a massive Scrivener file full of ideas, outlines, details, and plans. But I never finished the book.

Now, I do plan to write that book someday, but since that time I’ve developed the Daily Writer and built a ghostwriting business. But I have to tell you, I was really demoralized and discouraged for a long time after putting together all that material and never finishing it. Since then, I have done a much better job of starting… and finishing… projects.

And honestly, the thing that broke me of the habit of not finishing was doing client work. When you are a ghostwriter, you have to produce on demand whether you feel inspired or not. That’s a pretty good habit for all of us who are writing, whether we’re doing it for ourselves or someone else.

When you finish what you start, it gives you incredible confidence and momentum to keep going.

Plus, you can’t sell what you don’t finish. Readers don’t buy half-finished books. When you finish and publish, you have products you can sell to readers that will change their lives and bring you income.

Question: What do you need to finish and publish? How could it give you the confidence and creative fire you need?

The post Writing Habits Practice #8: Finish What You Start appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.